SAN ANTONIO (April 8, 2017) -- FIU softball seemingly had the game in hand, but a feisty UTSA squad produced three hits and three runs in the final inning to upend the Panthers 5-4 in game one of a Saturday Conference USA doubleheader at Roadrunner Field. FIU has matched its longest losing skid of the year at three games, sliding to 31-9 on the season, 7-3 in Conference USA. UTSA is now 15-23, 5-8 in league play.
FIU led by two runs twice in the game. The Roadrunners allowed FIU to load the bases on a hit batter, a walk and a fielding error in the third. Freshman
Jocelin Soto (Oxnard, California) pushed a single through the left side of the infield to score the first run of the day. Soto is 2-for-3 this season with the bases loaded, collecting four bases-loaded RBI.
Senior
Ashley Leon (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) was the key to the Panthers scoring a run in the fourth. She singled up the middle and stole second, advancing to third on an infield hit by fellow senior infielder
Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep). Leon scored on an attempted double steal in which Texeira was thrown out to give the Panthers the 2-0 lead.
UTSA came back to hit solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings to tie the score at two heading to the sixth.
The game turned again in FIU's favor in the top of the seventh, when freshman shortstop
Jessica Rivera (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) blasted her eighth home run of the season out to left field after a one-out walk in the frame. The homer was just her second in the seventh inning this season, her first with the score tied, but second-straight to give the Panthers the lead in a game.
After a one-out single in the seventh, sophomore starter
Abby Summers (Weston, Missouri) was lifted for a save opportunity for sophomore
Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS). She could not get out of the inning.
Summers got her fifth no-decision of the season, after tossing 6.1 innings, scattering five hits and one walk in the game. She struck out a pair and was charged with three runs. Kugelmann took the loss (11-3), giving up the gamewinning run in an infield error for an unearned run. She allowed two hits in one-third of an inning.
Roadrunner Nicole Merrill got the complete-game win to improve to 6-7. She allowed just five hits, but five walks, striking out eight. She also hit four batters. Three of the four FIU runs were earned.
Leon had two of the Panthers' five hits, while Rivera led all players with the two RBI.
The Panthers and Roadrunners complete the doubleheader at 4:30 Eastern.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and at Riccardo Silva Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute. FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
